Held in Beeson, south Devon, the event saw dads take to the floor to bust moves that were enough to make your eyes water.

The winner this year was Totnes dad Conrad Gillespie, who gave it his all. At times, his break-dancing looked like it might break him. And his rendition of what he called “the Caterpillar” was almost as painful to watch as it must have been to perform.

“It was a grudge match this year,” said organiser Ian Blackwell. “Conrad won the title two years ago, but lost it last year. So he really went for it this time.”

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In the contest, dozens of dads took to the dancefloor at the annual Dadfest, a festival for fathers and children, and competed to be the most embarrassing groovers possible.

The judges were a team of children, who ruthlessly culled out the dads who were simply not the most shameful, extravagant and unnecessary dancers.

“We run the festival every year for fathers to get together and have fun with their kids,” explained Ian. “We wanted to have something good on the Saturday night and so we thought of Dad Dancing. And as this is the only Dad Dancing competition in the whole world, it became – by default – the World Dad Dancing Competition.

DadFest, held every year in south Devon, is the venue for the World Dad Dancing Championships

“The funny thing is, it has really caught on and gone viral, and now it gets media attention and coverage all over the world. It has even been mentioned on Strictly.”

Indeed, this year, the contest even attracted a celebrity contestant. Matt Allwright (presenter of BBC’s Watchdog) took part. You can look out for how he got on in a film coming up on BBC’s The One Show. Suffice to say, he gave it a good try – elbows like pistons, knees pumping, but he was soon tapped on the shoulder by a nine-year-old and told to leave the floor.

He simply could not compete with Conrad, who said that winning once more was: “the best thing he had ever done” before admitting modestly: “It’s no more than I would do at any wedding.”

The contest is all part of the activities organised by the Dangerous Dads Network, a charity for fathers (and male carers) who get together regularly with their children for activities. The movement started in 2007 as a small group in the south Devon town of Totnes but the concept has now spread across the South West and even overseas, with groups in America, and Hungary.

“We have a lot of fun,” says Ian Blackwell, founder and co-ordinator. “We work with men from all backgrounds but we have a particular interest in supporting dads facing disadvantage, such as those on low income, facing isolation or with limited access to their children.

“We get a real mix of dads and male carers at our events,” says Ian, who is married to Sarah (“she’s having a quiet weekend at home”) and is studying for a phD on the importance of fathers spending time with their children. “Our groups meet once a month on Saturday afternoons in Children's Centres and village halls over the winter, but we aim to be outside as much as possible as soon as the weather improves.”

The Dangerous Dads mission is simple - to help build stronger communities where fathers and male carers have the chance to become the best dads in the world for their children, he says.

“I used to take our youngest daughter, Rosie, to the local pre-school in our home town of Totnes and I was usually the only dad there,” says Ian. “I was invited to a meeting with Totnes Children’s Centre staff to discuss how to reach more dads and support them as parents, and so Dangerous Dads was born.

“More and more towns started contacting me asking about our approach because we reach more dads than any other town in Devon.

“Children's centres need to engage families facing disadvantage but they seldom see fathers. They see our approach as very successful and so want to replicate what we started in Totnes and it’s now spreading - it's a very exciting time and there's interest across the UK and overseas.”

So why the name? Well the aim is to entice fathers in with the promise that it won’t be a “girly” day. “There are so many different activities for dads to get involved in,” says Ian. “From bird and bat box making, pizzas in a wood-fired oven, wild walks, camping, beach trips, rock-pooling and fishing.

“We also enjoy apple pressing, blackberry picking, making boats so they float, and trips to local farms, zoos and aquariums.”

DadFest takes place at Beeson near Kingsbridge in South Devon, at an outdoor activity centre called Forest and Beach. The festival has won Small Event of the Year award from the National Outdoor Events Association. It is a weekend of camping and fun activities such as storytelling, den-building and campfire cooking. Plus this year it even had its own special beer in a makeshift “pub”, called Daddies Sauce. Seventy dads attended this year, bringing 105 children with them.

“It’s fantastic,” says Ian, “We were thrilled to win what is a really major award. The National Outdoor Events Association is the professional body for the whole sector – festivals, venues, country shows, outdoor markets – so to win is a great honour for the organisers of DadFest.”

Ian also now helps to run MumFest, which takes pace at the same venue every year.

So what do the dads make of all this? One of the fathers entering this year’s Dad Dancing competition was Richard Seagers, 41, who lives in the Cotswolds and works for Dyson in Wiltshire. “These days, kids can end up living quite a sterile existence but this festival is a chance to get muddy, have fun. It’s brilliant.”

Richard’s daughters Lily, six and Molly, nine, said they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. “I’m missing Mummy a bit,” said Lily. “I’m not missing Mummy AT ALL – write that down,” said Molly.

The Seagers family had come along with Richard’s work colleague Andrew Scott, 43, who lives in the Forest of Dean. “It’s rather a different sort of weekend to how it would be if my wife Helen was here,” he said. “The kids are fairly feral, the tent is covered with mud. My daughter Beatrice has run out of shoes so she is barefoot and we’re just having a great time. I saw about this on the internet and thought – let’s give it a try. We’ll definitely be back next year.”

While the Dangerous Dads Network clearly offers fun activities and lots of laughter, it also helps tackle stress, anxiety and isolation that some fathers and children might be experiencing. The groups provide a positive impact on the health and well-being of families, giving both adults and children the chance to learn new skills, together. The Dangerous Dads Network is launching a Crowdfunding campaign in January to support existing groups and establish new ones.

“It’s not just the children who benefit,” says Ian Blackwell. “It’s parents and carers, too. Spending quality time together brings families closer. It creates a bond that can’t be broken. For me, that’s what it’s all about.”